Italy Car Hire

Italy Car Hire

Italy is always a very popular country to visit, whether you are exploring its diverse and lovely scenery, admiring some of the best art and architecture in the world, experiencing any of the numerous colourful and lively festivals or enjoying the country’s delicious cuisine.

Italy Car Hire

By using the booking form below, you can get a free car hire quote or book your car directly with any of the leading car hire suppliers in Italy, which include, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Firefly, Hertz, InterRent, Sixt and others.

Italian Arts and Architecture

Italy is famous worldwide for its numerous historical buildings and artifacts. Tuscany has more historical structures than anywhere in the world. There are a huge amount of Roman relics to see, especially in Rome, the capital. Rome is a wonderful city, both for its history and also its contempory culture. The Colosseum of course is a must see if you are visiting Rome, with its imposing architecture. There are also old Christian basilicas, Romanesque churches and Renaissance buildings. The beautiful Baroque fountains and churches are impressive and the Baroque style is an important characteristic of Rome, especially the works of Bernini which include the Fountain of the Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona.

There are lovely churches designed by Borromini including San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Museums to visit include the Capitoline, the Palazzo Altemps and Palazzo Massimo which house amazing collections of ancient sculpture and art.

The Basilica Di San Pietro, otherwise known as St Peter’s, is the Catholic Church’s main shrine. The dome of the church is the largest one in Rome, and its piers are ornamented with reliefs of important relics including St Veronica’s handkerchief, which wiped the face of Christ. The Vatican City is course an stunning place to visit with its outstanding museums and relics.

Rome is also a great place for many restaurants, bars and cafes, and the city’s nightlife is very lively. It is a lovely place to shop and has a wonderful artistic and friendly contemporary culture.

The city of Venice is a fascinating place to visit and experience. The charming city is on a lagoon and has barely changed in six hundred years. It has a real romantic character with its lovely canals, boats and beautiful buildings and bridges. The Basilica Di San Marco is a stunning structure with its Byzantine mosaics. The museums there include the Accademia, housing wonderful Venetian art masterpieces are a certainly worth a visit.

The ancient ruins of Pompeii are utterly fascinating. When Mount Vesuvius errupted in 79AD the town was buried beneath burning pumice stone which has preserved houses, shops, temples and amphitheatres in the town. Several ancient temples still stand in the ancient town, including the Temples of Isis, Venus and Apollo. The oldest remaining amphitheatre is also here which was built in 70BC.

The Italian Landscape

Trentino-Alto Adige is the northernmost region in Italy and lays across the Alps. The region is hugely popular with people who visit there for hiking and skiing or as a retreat to take in the outstanding scenery. There are also various spa hotels where you can relax while having treatments in the thermal waters of the region.

The Dolomites, which are a huge feature of this area, are vast rugged rock walls and have stunning peaks and are on the World Natural Heritage List. The rock formation here is breathtaking and the region has abundant nature life. You can take a cable car trip to view the stunning scenery hike across many of the beautiful designated routes. A museum here dedicated solely to the Ice Man is a remarkable visit, and the hillsides, with their rich green vegetation, are a beautiful sight. There is also the Strado Del Vinio wine tasting area for visitors to sample the wines of the region.

There are many beautiful beaches to visit in Italy. Torre Guaceto, Puglia is a lovely nature reserve and its marine is protected, which allows much freedom for visitors as it is not formally organised for holiday makers. It has natural feel to it and scuba divers can explore the small coral reefs. Maratea, Basilicata on the Tyrrhenian coast is stunning with its huge cliffs towering over the coves of rock and has lovely beaches. There are also interesting grotto’s in this region are worth a visit.

Italy has many beautiful lakes. The lake region is from Lombardy and the Veneto to Piedmont, along the side of the lakes are many charming villages and towns, dramatic mountains and beaufiul landscape. Lake Garda is the largest and has lovely lush hills, olive groves and vineyards alongside it. Lake Como has a stunning landscape and is a must for lovers of beautiful scenery. It has a backdrop of the wonderful Alps.

Italian Cuisine

Italy’s food is known all over the world and has influenced many countries. Italian dishes vary from region to region in the country. It is relatively simple, and an Italian dish often will not have many ingredients, but is always full of flavour. Pizza is probably the best known food to come out of Italy, and pasta is of course known all over the world and there are many lovely pasta dishes served with many types of sauces. Different pasta includes spaghetti, lasagne, fusilli, linguine and stuffed pasta such as ravioli. Polenta and risotto are also popular dishes.

Olive oil is abundantly used in cooking and one of the delicious sauces is pesto, made with olive oil, basil and pine nuts and served with pasta. Bolognese sauces are also lovely. In the north of Italy rice, corn and potatoes, cod, ham and pork and various cheeses are very common. In the south tomatoes, peppers, olives, ricotta cheese, sardines and zucchini are commonly enjoyed.

Wine is a very important part of Italian dining. It is enjoyed with meals all over Italy. Italy produces more wine than anywhere else in the world, there are twenty wine producing regions in the country and they pride themselves on the quality of their wine. Coffee is also popular in Italy, with espresso being a firm favourite in the country.

Italy is a hugely popular country to visit, with its fascinating ancient and modern culture, abundance of historical sites and its beautiful landscape. The Italian people will make you feel at home wherever you are from.